Celebrity mother of the bride trends

With celebrity weddings now a popular story for mainstream media, we’re seeing more and more of the guests and their fabulous outfits. This includes the on-trend outfits worn by the mother of the bride. No polyester twinsets here – just super stylish ladies who look as photoshoot ready as their beautiful daughter.

Hollywood continues to provide us with glamorous inspiration, thanks to its leading ladies, many of whom have been mother of the bride themselves. Of course, many of the stars of Tinseltown have access to stylists, couture gowns, and credit cards without limits, but you’d be surprised at what you can find when you go looking for the perfect mother of the bride dress a little closer to home.

Lace is no longer something just for the bride. The eternally romantic elements of lace make it very appropriate for a wedding outfit, and it’s now available in a whole rainbow of colours. Usually layered, it can really bring a fabric pattern to life. Lace remains a great choice for the sophisticated mother of the bride, whether you go for a full lace outfit or just a semi embellished ensemble. Susan Sarandon chose a slate coloured dress with a lace neckline in homage to daughter Eva Amurri’s gown at her 2011 wedding, or you could follow Dutch Princess Maxima’s lead with the full lace dress she wore to William and Kate’s wedding.

If you’re self conscious about your shape, look into tops or dresses with a bateau neckline. These wide slash necklines really draw attention to your neck and collarbone area, elongating it and giving you an air of elegance. A great example of this is Judy Murray’s outfit, worn to tennis pro son Andy’s wedding. She teamed it with a matching jacket for the ceremony.

For summer weddings, we love cap sleeves. Not quite short sleeves, and not quite camisole-top straps, they offer the best of both worlds. You get some coverage, without the restriction which sleeves can bring. You don’t need to worry about leaving your shoulders exposed with a chic cap sleeve top or dress. Hillary Clinton’s Oscar de la Renta dress, worn for daughter Chelsea’s wedding, was a wonderful, quirky take on this, with a chiffon cap sleeve which could easily have doubled as a wrap.

Of course, if you’d rather have some sort of covering on your arms, there’s no need to drown them in heavy fabrics. A popular compromise is the sheer sleeve, where long or three quarter length sleeves are made from sheer fabrics which allow you to show a little flesh without showing off something you might feel self-conscious about.

Love your lower half? Show off your legs with a skirt which moves. We’re not talking about a full-on ballerina skirt, but just something which twirls a little. If you’re planning on moving around a lot, there are no worries about them restricting your movement and – dare we say it – are a wonderful, youthful choice. Kathy Hilton wore a long length skirt with plenty of movement at daughter Nicky’s wedding to James Rothschild, which would have left her free to hit the dance floor.

Whatever you choose, you have to be comfortable in what you choose to wear. Not just physically comfortable, but also psychologically. Choosing something which is not your usual style will make you feel on edge, so don’t be tempted to sacrifice your personal style just to make a statement.